The Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice (DCJ) 

BAKU, AZERBAIJAN, 22 NOV 24 – While much of the focus of COP29 in Baku rightfully centres debates over the quantum and quality of any New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), very little attention is being given to what could be the true legacy of Baku: the deliberate dismantling of the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement structures for any legal accountability of developed countries to provide finance and technology to developing countries. 

Paris in 2015 was the site of the first Great Escape from any accountability for greenhouse gas emissions by establishing the bottom-up system of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) that almost a decade later has left the world drifting dangerously off course from limiting warming to 1.5C and instead hurtling toward 3-4C.  

Climate justice advocates warn COP29 could culminate a decade-long effort to consolidate freedom for countries who got rich first by burning fossil fuels from their climate finance obligations: the Great Escape II.

Join us, as members of the Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice break down the details of the ways in which this escape has been cleverly engineered by both subtle diplomacy and brutish bullying of the Global North countries.

“Developed countries get rich because of colonisation, not because they were smart. We only have gigatons left to do this in a time window of eight years. The global north doesn’t want any mention to the Convention, hence, nothing legally binding. The Paris Agreement says that parties must enhance the implementation of the Convention. Do they not speak English? The Net-Zero for developed countries is a complete fraud that will not limit temperatures for the 1.5°C goal. Developing countries are saying: We might be in a football stadium, but we cannot afford to play games. The Great Escape means do not let them escape again. Stop fooling us. Enough is enough.”

Meena Raman, Third World Network

“A ‘Finance COP’ means learning from past mistakes dating Copenhagen back 2009, and we are at the very last day of COP29 concluding three years of negotiations and we know that we are very far from where we should be. We need a large goal of finance that is public and with grants, and it can’t be based on all the false solutions composed of climate markets and green bonds. The question is how developed countries will pay up without turning the responsibility to the private sector. It is unacceptable that on the last day of the COP we do not have a quantum on the table. If we get a weak deal, it is the developed countries’ fault.”

Mariana Paoli, Christian Aid

“We’re deeply frustrated with the outcomes of COP29 so far, particularly for the Global South. The developed countries promise but never deliver, they challenge our intelligence by fulfilling the text with carbon markets schemes and other kind of green finance that will transform into a bunch of new climate debts.  

Without an expressive goal in climate finance, we will not be able to achieve the Just Transition foremost in the next COP in Belem. The climate crisis is already facing the livelihoods of the peoples and their territories in the cities, rural areas, waters and forests. The Brazilian presidency at the next COP will have a huge challenge to put back in the tracks the Paris Agreement climate finance if Baku fails and be able to dialogue and support the Peoples’ Summit towards COP30 as an autonomous, popular space of civil society and that will take Belem streets.” 

Maureen Santos, FASE

“For nearly 30 years, the global south communities have been fighting to hold the rich countries accountable for the climate crisis they have brought to our doors. Just like in Paris when developed countries escaped their responsibility that has left the world drifting dangerously off course and hurtling toward 3-4C, they are doing it again at COP29 by escaping form their financial obligations. We want the developed countries and everyone who is responsible for the climate induced devastation back at home that we will not accept any NCQG outcome that does not deliver on our demands for grants based, public finance for the global south.”

Rachitaa Gupta, Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice

MEDIA ADVISORY

Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice (DCJ) 

As COP29 draws to a close, an action in the form of a temporary art installation, “The Price of Injustice – Measuring Climate Finance, Grain by Grain,” will showcase the immense disparity in climate finance delivery by the rich countries and the actual needs of the global south. Using grains of rice, a crop that is at the heart of Global-South food and agriculture, as a powerful visual metaphor, the installation vividly illustrates the immense inequalities in climate finance commitments, fossil fuel subsidies, and reparations owed to the Global South.

This action by Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice is to demonstrate the lies and manipulation of the rich countries to continue extracting trillions from the developing countries to support their colonial regime.

Join member of the Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice as they demonstrate why the Global-South continues to stand up to the Northern government to ensure a just and equitabole future. 

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When: November 22nd, Friday | 09:00 hs (Baku)

Where: Location 3  

Visuals and Interviews:

• Striking displays of rice quantities highlighting the scale of disparities.
• Climate justice advocates and creators of the installation will be available for interviews to provide insights into the messages behind the art.
• Photo and Media Opportunities:
• Media attendees will have the opportunity to capture visuals of the installation, interact with the creators, and engage with activists demanding climate justice.

Contact Us 

Esthappen, +919820918910, [email protected] 

Julian, +306941437285, [email protected]

WHAT: Global activists from all constituencies are coming together to call out the current text for its empty ambition and failing the Global South that faces an imminent threat from climate collapse. The message is clear: Global North must pay up now!  There will also be speeches. Spokespeople available. Media huddle to follow: 

WHEN: Saturday, November 22, 2024, 13:00hs Baku time (UTC+4)

WHERE: Zone 7 in fron t of the Caspian Plenary, COP29 Blue Zone

SPEAKERS:

• Lidy Nacpil, Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justicent (DCJ) 
• Meena Raman, Lawyer, Third World Network / DCJ
• Liane Schalatek, Women and Gender Constituency
• Jeremy Anderson,  Director of Just Transition and Sustainable Transport, International Transport Workers’​ Federation (ITF)
• Rebecca Thissen, Global Advocacy Lead, Climate Action Network International

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Isabel Rodrigo | Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development | +63 926 734 5712 | [email protected]

Esthappen S | Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice | +919820918910 | [email protected]

Attila Kulcsár | Climate Action Network International | +44 7472 124872 | [email protected]

The Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice (DCJ) 

While much of the focus of COP29 in Baku rightfully centers debates over the quantum and quality of any New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), very little attention is being given to what could be the true legacy of Baku: the deliberate dismantling of the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement structures for any legal accountability of developed countries to provide finance and technology to developing countries. 

Paris in 2015 was the site of the first Great Escape from any accountability for greenhouse gas emissions by establishing the bottom-up system of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) that almost a decade later has left the world drifting dangerously off course from limiting warming to 1.5C and instead hurtling toward 3-4C.  

Climate justice advocates warn COP29 could culminate a decade-long effort to consolidate freedom for countries who got rich first by burning fossil fuels from their climate finance obligations: the Great Escape II.

Join us, as members of the Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice break down the details of the ways in which this escape has been cleverly engineered by both subtle diplomacy and brutish bullying of the Global North countries.

When: Friday, 22 November | 10:30am

Where: Press Conference – Natavan, Area D / WATCH LIVE

Who:

• Meena Raman, Third World Network
• Mariana Paoli, Christian Aid
• Maureen Santos, FASE
• Moderator: Rachitaa Gupta, Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, November 21, 2024

[PHOTO]

Credit: Bianka Csenki / The Artivist Network

Baku, Azerbaijan—Today, hundreds of climate activists took over COP29’s plenary hall and hallways to hold a People’s Plenary.

Photos available to download here.

QUOTES:

Tasneem Essop, executive director of Climate Action Network International: “The People’s Plenary at COP29 is a powerful reminder that the true power in the climate crisis lies not with the diplomats in their VIP rooms, but with the people. While governments continue to stall and manipulate, it is the voices of communities on the frontlines, grassroots activists, and youth leaders that are driving the conversation. This plenary is a declaration that people have always held the power to change the course of history.“

Lidy Nacpil, coordinator of the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development: “As we reach the finish line of COP29, we are escalating our demands for climate justice and reaffirming our unwavering solidarity with oppressed peoples around the world. We are calling on Global South governments at COP29 to stand firm, hold fast, and fight for our right to climate reparations. The people of the Global South are owed nothing less than $5 trillion a year in public, grant-based climate finance. While the governments of the Global North delay and deflect, the people of the Global South are dying. The Global North must acknowledge its historical responsibility for the climate catastrophe and pay up.”

Asad Rehman, executive director of War on Want: “As COP29 draws to a close, the very future of humanity and our planet hangs in the balance. Arsonists who burn down people’s homes cannot simply walk away from the flames and leave the victims to rebuild on their own. It’s time for an end to the hollow words from the USA, UK and European countries about keeping 1.5C alive, respecting human rights and standing with the most vulnerable countries. They must stop burning down the planet, cut their own carbon pollution, and pay up for the damage they have caused. Claiming empty coffers whilst funding the bombs dropping on Gaza and giving hand outs to fossil fuel giants to expand their own oil and gas whilst pointing the finger at others fools no one. Taxing the rich and making big business pay their taxes would raise trillions in public finance. When rich countries burn down the international rules-based system to give impunity to Israel’s genocide, when they refuse to stop funding and fuelling genocide, they are sending a very clear message to countries in the Global South, that in their eyes the lives of black and brown people have less value than others.”

Harjeet Singh, global engagement director of Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, said: “We approached this COP with the expectation that developed nations would acknowledge their historical responsibility for the climate crisis and show the political will to address it by committing substantial sums under the new climate finance goal. Instead, what we are witnessing are diversionary tactics and a glaring lack of commitment to mobilize the finance needed to confront the scale of this crisis. For many of us from climate-vulnerable developing nations, this COP is make-or-break. Its failure to deliver will starkly reveal the world’s true stance on our plight.

“We must stand united, unwavering in the people’s demand for climate finance, because we hold the power to drive change. As momentum grows around the calls for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, we urge more nations to join those championing this treaty and commit to a legally binding mechanism to ensure an equitable global transition away from fossil fuels.”

Eduardo Giesen, regional coordinator of the Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice: “COP29 is proving once again that the UNFCCC is not a space to achieve climate justice. On the one hand, the governments of rich countries defend their status as global political and economic power and the interests of large corporations, while financing the genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza. And a large part of the governments of the Global South cling to the model of political and economic dependence, promoting false solutions such as carbon markets. The peoples of the Global South, especially those of Latin America, must build our own agenda and political projects to overcome dependence and the climate crisis. The People’s Summit in Belem will be a milestone on that path.”

Carolina Muturi, coordinator of IBON Africa: “Africa has long been the exploited engine of global wealth–its lands, resources, and peoples drained to fuel the prosperity of rich countries in the global North, leaving us vulnerable to the worsening impacts of climate change. At COP29, we were promised financing to address this crisis. Yet, we are met with hollow promises and false ‘solutions’ like carbon markets that perpetuate the cycles of colonial plunder of Africa. Carbon finance is not climate finance; what the global North needs to do is pay the climate debt they owe to the African peoples and to all Southern peoples. COP29 must not be another stage for empty rhetoric. It must deliver on our demand for reparations. We deserve nothing less.”

Nada Elbohi of the Women and Gender Constituency: As leaders in climate action, women and girls in all their diversity are not inherently vulnerable, but made so through intentional structural barriers and systems of oppression that disenable us. Unless COP29 holds accountable the perpetrators and polluters who cultivate and benefit from inequalities, we will keep spinning the wheel of patriarchy, capitalism, militarization, extractivism, and colonialism. These are the same interconnected systems of injustices that have driven and continue to perpetuate the climate crisis. System change with gender rights at the heart must be the way forward.

ADDITIONAL QUOTES HERE.

[PHOTO]

Photos available to download here. Free to use with attribution to Bianka Csenki / The Artivist Network

Media contacts: 

Attila Kulcsar | Climate Action Network | [email protected] 

Esthappen | Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice | estha.dcj@gmail.com | +306941437285

Isabel Rodrigo | Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development | [email protected] | +63 926 734 5712

The Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice (DCJ) 

BAKU, AZERBAIJAN, 21 NOV 24 – Due to electoral losses and collapsing coalitions in key governments of the Global North, they have arrived in Baku with no money or mandates for the so-called Finance COP, the COP29. Posturing for political points back home, the US and the EU are once again accusing the Global South of blocking progress, while attempting to divide G77+China unity that is standing strong for a New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG). 

Developed countries and their mainstream media blame developing countries for “blocking” progress in the transition from fossil fuels, yet it is the very climate finance developed countries have failed to deliver that is needed to enable more ambitious cuts in emissions by developing countries.

Our warming world needs a fresh breeze of Caspian air for a big breakthrough in Baku but it seems set for a breakdown. 

“We’re heading to the end of COP, and the balance is not on our side. Who are the arsonists who burned down our homes and then walked away from the flames? If the UK wants to show leadership, it will have to decarbonise by 2030 and provide 1 trillion in finance to be on track with its historical responsibilities. We need serious NDCs: the Global South cannot continue to develop the Global North. As COP29 draws to a close, the very future of humanity and our planet hangs in the balance. It’s time for an end to the hollow words from the USA, UK, and European countries about keeping 1.5°C alive, respecting human rights, and standing with the most vulnerable countries. Instead of claiming empty coffers while funding bombs for Gaza and handing out billions to fossil fuel giants, these countries must cut their carbon pollution, pay for the damage they’ve caused, and stop burning down the planet.”

Asad Rehman, War on Want

“Instead of taking responsibility for its actions, the EU refuses to pay up. Private money is not the answer: companies will always prioritise profit over people. Developing countries cannot increase their ambitions if they do not receive their fair share. Pay up and face responsibility.”

Nine de Pater, Friend of the Earth Netherlands

“The new text has no number on the NCQG and we’re two days away from the end of the COP. There’s nothing concrete from developed countries, they are not serious. The US has not delivered anything close to its fair share of climate finance. The developed countries must negotiate with good faith – not try to water down the very same obligations they’ve failed to meet. Stop distracting from their failure with issues like private finance and bullying China into paying.”

Brandon Wu, ActionAid  USA

“Developed countries are gaslighting the developing world on fossil fuels by claiming that they want a phaseout but continuing to expand oil and gas production and exports. Just 5 countries – the US, Canada, Norway, Australia, and UK – are responsible for 51% of planned oil and gas expansion through 2050. Global North hypocrisy and a lack of commitments on finance are the primary reasons for lack of movement on mitigation.”

Collin Rees, Oil Change International

“It has been nearly 30 years since we have been coming to COP asking rich countries to pay up for their historical responsibility. To pay up for this crisis they have brought to our doors. We want climate finance in trillions as reparations to historic harm caused to our lands, resources and our peoples and we want it in public grants and not through neo-colonial frameworks disguised as investment plans, loans and false solutions like carbon markets, nature swaps and green bonds. We all know money is there. The rich countries are just choosing to fund war, conflict and genocide instead of climate action.”

Rachitaa Gupta, Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice

MEDIA ADVISORY 

WHEN: Thursday, November 21, 3:30-5:30 PM Baku time (UTC+4)

WHERE: Caspian Plenary Hall, Area D, Blue Zone. Spokespeople will be available for interviews nearby.

WHAT: As COP29 negotiations wrap up, hundreds of activists will reaffirm their commitment to building a better world by holding a People’s Plenary, where their chants, demands, and stories of struggle will be heard. Members of civil society will hold a program inside the hall before staging a silent march in the hallways of Area D.

WHO: Hundreds of activists from the rights-based UNFCCC constituencies and civil society groups from across the world.

Spokespeople will be available for interviews after the action.

Photos will also be sent out after this event.

About the Organizers

This action is being organized by a cross-constituency of climate groups. For specific questions and to get in touch for interviews, email [email protected]

CONTACTS:

Attila Kulcsar | Climate Action Network | [email protected] 

Esthappen S | Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice | [email protected] | +919820918910

Isabel Rodrigo | Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development | [email protected] | +63 926 734 5712

The Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice (DCJ) 

Due to electoral losses and collapsing coalitions in key governments of the Global North, they have arrived in Baku with no money or mandates for the so-called Finance COP, the COP29. Posturing for political points back home, the US and the EU are once again accusing the Global South of blocking progress, while attempting to divide G77+China unity that is standing strong for a New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG). 

Developed countries and their mainstream media blame developing countries for “blocking” progress in the transition from fossil fuels, yet it is the very climate finance developed countries have failed to deliver that is needed to enable more ambitious cuts in emissions by developing countries.

Our warming world needs a fresh breeze of Caspian air for a big breakthrough in Baku but it seems set for a breakdown. Join members of the Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice as they explain the tactics and intentions of Global North interests undermining climate justice, and what we need for success.

When: Thursday, 21 November | 10:30am

Where: Press Conference – Natavan, Area D / WATCH LIVE

Who:

• Brandon Wu, ActionAid  USA
• Collin Rees, Oil Change International
• Asad Rehman, War on Want
• Nine de Pater, Friend of the Earth Netherlands
• Moderator: Rachitaa Gupta, Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice